Electrodynamic transceiver for transmission and reception of sound



Aug. 8, 1950 H. c. HAYES 2,517,565

ELECTRODYNAMIC TRANSCEIVER FOR TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION OF souun Filed Jan. 21, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IlI:: J

l5. 14- II V IN VE NTOR Harvey C. Hayes av Aug. 8, 1950 c, HAYEs 2,517,565

ELECTRODYNAMIC TRANSCEIVER FOR TRANSMISSION v AND RECEPTION OF SOUND Filed Jan. 21, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VE N TOR Harvey C. Hayes BY M m/d.

A TTORNE Y Patented Aug. 8, 1950 UNITED STATES ELEGTBODYNAMIG TRANSCEIVER TRANSMISSION- AND RECEPTION OF:

SOUND Harvey (J; Hayes; Washington, D; GI. Applicatlonlanuary 21, 1939, SeriaLNo ..252',10 4; 1 Claim. (01. nv-asa) (Granted under the. w of. March, 3,, 1883; as?

1 amended April. 30,,

This invention relates: broadly to improve-- ments in apparatus: ion interconverting elec-- trical energy and sound: energy. More.- particularly, it; relates. to improvementsv in. a.- system for directively transmitting and receiving under. water sounds.

An object. of this invention is to provide a directive electrodyna'mic" transceiver useful for both transmission and reception of soundi Another object of this invention is to provide a directive electrodynamic' transceiver especially useful" for supersonicelectroacoustic' energy conversions;

Another object of this invention is to provide a directive. electrodynamic: transceiver capable of' generating" more sound energy than previous dl'-- rective transceivers;

Another object of invention is to provide a directive electrodynamic'transceiver"capable of manufacture" by a method which facilitates the" desirable condition of uniformity of phase and amplitude for increments of the radiating surface;

This invention will be described in connection with-the following drawings; in which? Fig. l, partly inseotion, shows theelements of a quartz-steel transceiver; with' node andloops oi. vibration indicated:

Fig. 2, also partlyin" section; shows the ele'-.- ments of a magnetostricti'on transceiver," with node and loops of vibration indicated? Fig; 3 is amid-sectional" view offone form; of) mywlirective electrcdynamic transceiver. but with 7 only one element of the oscillatory member and one electrodynamic unit shown, indicating theprinciple of operation. l

Fig. 4 shows": one: method ofaconplingatthe; elest ments Off the; oscillating: member of Fig. 3:

Eig: 5izis a mid rseetional vievwofi an! oscillating; member 011 one type; or. my directive: electrody namictransceiver;- with? the oscillating membenrv manufacturedvinionemiece.

Eigz. fills a: mid-sectional; view: of: one form of; my directives electnodynamic: tnansceiven showingq, all essentiah parts. sodlIIIB'flSiOIlGd-I thaib the nodalzplane falls: within the narrow bands and outside of thee solid=metalrofgtheioscillatinga dia phragm. a

Fig; 7- shows rcne-t form r of. the. oscillating; mem: her-10f. my directive eleetrodynamictransceiver sot dimensioned: that the: nodal plane, fallswithim the-solid metal'iof theoscillatinggdiaphragma.

Fig. 8: is a representation of the oscillating member ofrFig 6 ma simplespring-masstsystemh member of Fig. 7 ina simple spring-mass systemlt- Fig: IOLisianisDmetric" sectional: view ofJanother form of my electrodynamic transceiverg. showingya type; OfiCIlIlStlHDtlOIl-fidQDtQibl to al-- most: any." shape ber."

The generation and). reception; of directive:

of the circular face. Ifithenature of thedevicea is such thattheractivedaceis made: to oscillate. perpendicularly to: its surface-by the applicationof electrical; or magnetic. forces and thereby transmit sound into the surrounding medium,"

and; in 1 turn, if; thee impingementof sound waves against! this; facersets-np mechanical oscillations i a which turn generate: electrical energy at. the expenseof; the. sound= energy meeting" the face 39; then the .device? ser-ves: for v both-transmitting and 1 1 receiving sound'signalsp Such-.adevice isltermed a transceiver. My-inventionds such a device and thusmay beadefinedrasra directive electrodynamic.

so.-cal1ed-; quartz-steel transceiver. wherein nu: merals-l l-and-l ZZindicate two like. circular plates,-

usually made of steel, and l3 indicates a mozaic of quartz. crystals-l to which both platesare ce- 45. mented. 'IYhe X-axis of; the crystalsis directed. perpendicular; to. the; plane surfaces of the plates Analternating-,1 voltage -across the plates. causesl the crystals to r expand: and contract because of th'eirpiezo-electricalproperties, and-at some def.- inite frequency the combination is set into resonant oscillation as. shown: by the dotted lines, I 4 and I5) Thes-outside surface-of. eachfplate be comes=a loop. and-.the.mid plane.of the crystals: an intervening.- node I in this halfrwave mode. of;

, Figs. 9 at represantatiom of the oscillatingifiv oscillation;

of: face-ion the oscillating meme 7 wheremisthewavetlengthandnis the diameter- Fig. 1 shows theaprinciple s of operation of thee plate.

This system has three inherent weaknesses: First, as the system oscillates the material adjacent to the nodal plane undergoes axially directed pressure changes in a radial direction in accordance withBoissonsratio for the material of the This reaction produces a-system of compressional waves in a radial direction which com bine with the axial wave system to prevent the radiating surface from oscillating at equal amplitude and in phase as demanded of a' directive transceiver. Second, the mechanical work per cycle which the crystals can accomplish depends on the force with which they expand; to -push the plates apart and then contract topull them together and the distance through which these forces act. amplitude of expansion or contraction S, and the s is limited because of the space about each tube that is required for the magnetizing coil.

practice each tube requires an area of about a half inch square on the supporting plate. Thus the amount of magnetostrictive material that can -"be actively employed to energize a transceiver is Calling the average force F, the

number of cycles per second Nj then the mechan-" ical power P (the work per second) becomes P= s N,

If there were no internal losses this power would be radiated into the medium as sound. In practice, this power cannot be madevery large be cause of the extreme ininuteness of the factor S which represents the amplitude through which the crystals expand and contract in the direction of their X-axis. 'But-onlyaa fraction of this power finally radiates as sound because there are 4 relatively large internal losses, the main source of which is the work done by the motion of the This motion is in a crystals along their-Y-axis. radial direction and works against the viscous cement to generate heat; This not only reduces the acoustical efiiciency'but tends to limit the amount of power that can be supplied because of the danger of overheating and weakening the cement.

Third, the large internal losses prevent the tuning of the transceiver to sharp mechanical resonance; This reduces its selectivity against'the strong, local disturbing noises generated by propellers, auxiliaries and water turbulence, and

gives a strong background of noise against which the signal must be detected. The range of operation is' thereby reduced.

'Fig. 2 shows 'the'principle of operation of the ma'gnetostriction transceiver wherein numeral l6 indicates a plate,usually circular inform, to which a multiplicity of tubes I! are attached at uniform spacing over one face. Each of these tubes forms the core of amagnetizing coil I8.

These several coils are connected in parallel or series'or series-parallel to give a desired electri- 1 cal impedance. Each coil carries a series direct current and a superimposed alternating current. Thus, the tubes undergo a periodic change of magnetic flux of the frequency of the alternating current, and at some definite frequency will resonate mechanically in accordance with the dotted lines 20 and 2|, the oscillating mechanical energy being supplied through the' magnetostrictive properties of the material of the several tubes.

In the magnetostriction oscillator the mechanical'work performed by the several tubes results from the fluctuating strains set up by the fluctuating magnetic field to which they are exposed' considerably less than the amount of quartz crystal material that can be so employed. The

Hmechanical power that can be developed by the magnetostrictive material of a transceiver is probably somewhat inexcess of that supplied by the quartz, but it is distinctly limited, because the amount of material that can be employed is small," and also for'the' reason that the'amplitude of expansion and contraction of these materials is, like the quartz, very small. Here, as in the j quartz-steel transceiver the mechanical power where the power P is fdistinctly limited by the minuteness of the amplitude S through which the driving force Foperates, and this force F is also limited because of the small amount of magnetostrictive material that can be actively employed.

Since the magnetostriction transceiver has less,

internal losses than does the quartz-steel because it is free from motion corresponding to the Y-axis motion of the crystal, it is thus relatively free from the radial standing wave system and its.

tendency to destroy. uniformity of phase and amplitude over the radiating surface. because the nodal plane falls within the tube lengths outside of the solid metal of the plate when the radial pressurechanges are small and.

unresisted and where there is no coupling in. a;

radial directionbetween adjacent tubes. However, these advantages are to a large extent.

ofisetby the difficulty, if not impossibility, of tuning the j magnetostriction tubes to the same vfrequency, and also to the fact that the tubes cannot be spaced over a circular area so that each supports the same mass of the plate. As a result this type of transceiver usually is not as sharply tuned as is the quartz-steel type. It therefore carries a stronger background of noise againstwhich the echoes or other desired signals must be detected.

Summing up, we find the two types of oscillators described have much in common. They both operate through a change in dimension of an activating element brought about by changes of a superimposed field offorce. In the case of the crystals an electric field is employed, While in the case of the magnetostriction elements a magnetic field is employed. In both cases the oscillating forces are generated within the oscillating system itself and, as a result, they must operate primarily in the material at and adjacent to the nodal plane because this is where the material suffers the greatest strain. It follows that the amplitude through which these forces operate must be very small. If these same forces could be made to operate through the amplitude swept out by the outside faces, in the case of the quartz-steel transceiver, or, through the amplitude of movement of the free end of the tubes, in thecase of the magnetostriction trans- This is ceiv'er; they could do. many times moremechanical 'work because of the increase of the factor S; int-the preceding power equation, andvhence could generate more sound energy. If this could be done, a gain factor somewhere between 100'and 1000' should be expected in the case of the mag. netostriction transceiver, depending. upon the materialof the tubes.

It can beshown that to drive a half -wave oscillating system by forces applied at a: loop, these forces must' be coupled to an outside and relativelystationary member. In such a system, the factors of the power formula P =F S N differfrom those on the'crystal and magnetostrictive types'inthat' the-factors, the distance throughwhichthe force operates, is relatively much 2rd hea-c where r1; ,is numeral 29 (Fig; 3)" r; is; nmneral123 (Fig.1 3') rz iS numeral 24 (Fig,- 3),

which: centers theband; 25: over: the; locus: oiit-he. radial center, of:percussiomofsiringih Numera-P 30'; indicates; the. body ofa ring-shaped? electroe magnet in whicha direct: current coil 3.1- is.im.-- bedded, The: rings 32; andw33sfformgthezpolesof the eleotromagnet betweenw which isa ring gapa 3.4.: onuniform. radial: width across: which: there: a-strong, magnetic field directed; outwardly on inwardly.intaccordanceiwithwthe-direction: air the? directicurrent incoil 31*. An alternating; current coil 35 of; one orrmore layersis woundainfixed: anchored POS-ltiOIllOI1-,the;D01ei facerof; ring 32.. The band; 2.6:, is held. centered in; the magnetic; amat a; depth: substantially equal to; that of." the gap.

Electrically speaking; thegap enclosediportion of band Zfi is, tightly coupledi to the: alternating current 0011;35; and; since themes-istance of band: 25,6;is VQIMYIOW; it will at any: and:- every; instant carry: practically: the; samc ampere turns as ,2 does: coil: 35: 'llhemeaction of this: inducedicurrent' in; the. band 126; with the: radial direct: current. field proclucedz-byrcoilitIiproducesalternatingmerchant icaliforces directed valong; the elements of: bandi 26;,01, frequency equal tdthat, of thealternating; cur-rent, in. accordance: with thewell-known elem trodynamic principle of generating; oscillating: mechanicaLforces. Atlsome properafrequencmofi the; alternating; current the; combinatiom of:v ring; 2-2. and, band! 2 6:; is caused; to; resonate mechanic cally in; accordance With-l the: dottedi lines; as and: 31 witha axnoder at some.=p0inti38:; which; prefer ablyshould fall within the bandz 261,-, but-.- which maybe madeto'fall'yrithin1the-ringi22; depending: onthe relative lengths: 25:.- and- 2 8; It. isto s be notedt-hat the oscillatingforces -F are applied at a iloopzwhere the amplitude of; motion iisfgreatest ihsteadiofratithe node where.itzis;relativelyrmuchr smaller; AnrannulandistanoezpiecerrSSwseparates ring 22; from electromagnet poleabody 33; A p1u;--

ralityof studbolts; 86 secure the assembly to.- gether.

The outer plane surface ofringZZ of Fig. 3; represents one increment of the total radiating area. of such: a transceiver. Thewhole circular area is madeupof a: number of these, increments fitted concentrically within one another so as to present a completecircular radiating area of any desireddiameter-.-

Thus, the:generated vforces are used to produce a standing wave system in the oscillating sys-- tem or member, 1. e., combined rings 22 and, 26 (Fig; 3), with dimensioning, in accordance to the equation.

explained above,- whereby all portions of, the

outer or radiating faces of rings 22 oscillate with.

uniformamplitude and phase. It extends, the use of: such forcesto the-efiicient generation ofsound' of super-audible frequency and. for oscillating a radiating plane surface of almost any desired I area at uniform amplitude and phase at these high frequencies. In short, it makes-possible the. use of such forces for generating directive highpitched sound signals such asare radiated-from a plane circular area that oscillates with uni-- formity of amplitudeand phase andhas dimensions, large with, respect to the wave length-of sin 0:0.62

tage of simplicity of computation and designof.

the oscillating members, this. scheme calls for equal air gaps inthe, several ring magnets, which, inturn, simplifiesthe design of these magnets to meet the desirable condition of equal intensity of. magnetic field across the, air gap of ally the, increments.

As stated, it is'desirable that all portions of.

the radiating area should oscillate with thesame. amplitude. This willresult if the driving force per. unit areafor each ring increment of radiating surfaceis the same. These forces can most. readily be made equal by making the-flux density across allthe gaps equal and providing for the same ampere turns through all the alternating current coils. Then the induced current in all. the gap-enclosed. bands will be equal. andthe driving force per unit length of band will be, the same for all.

To secure uniformity-of phase bet-ween the several ring increments it becomes desirable and probably necessary to efiect some sortof coupling between adjacent rings. Such coupling may be; accomplished by brazing or welding adjacent rings across the-line of contact-preferably on the radiating surface as shown by-Fig. 4, wherein two adjacent rings 39: and M! are shown'welded ati lli. It is obvious that, these twozringscan-be This condition. is. met.

made integral as shown in Fig. wheretwo rings 42 and 43 are shown made in one piece and are separated by a narrow machined slot M. The coupling at 45 (Fig. 5) is a short bridge of solid material.

In practice, it is preferred to make the whole oscillating system of one solid piece of metal and the several magnets corresponding to the several increments are also preferably turned from a single heavy disc of magnetic material of high permeability. Fig. 6 shows such a manner of construction, and is one form of my transceiver complete, composed of several concentric units, one of which is described under Fig. 3. The entire oscillating member 48 is machined from the same piece of metal, as in Fig. 5. The magnetic pole pieces 52, 53, 54, 55 and 56 are all circular rings, while the central pole piece 51, is cylindrical in shape. The body 58 of the magnets is made of a single piece of metal and is machined to receive direct current coils 59. 6|--6i is the nodal plane of the oscillating system or member. The oscillating member is anchored in proper relation to the magnets by flange Ell which is also designed to protect the coil system, the leads from which emerge by cable Bl! through stufling box 49. Such leads, a showing of which has been omitted from the drawing for the sake of clearness, may pass from the coils into the clearancebetween the lower edges of the bands and the tops of the field coils 53 and thence to the cable through suitable passageways in the members 58 and 52. Obviously, other methods of anchoring the oscillator to the magnet can be employed. Annular distance piece 8"! separates oscillating member {38 from pole body 52. A plurality of stud bolts 88 secure the assembly together.

Difficulties and weaknesses caused by any design that places a nodal plane in the solid disc portion of the oscillating system have previously been discussed. Such a design prevents the radiating face from oscillating with uniformity of amplitude and phase. If the dimensioning of the oscillating member of Fig. 6 is such that the nodal plane of the standing wave system falls within the solid metal coupling bridges 45, there is no need for the slots M, and the coupling between adjacent increments is improved by omitting the slots M entirely,

Fig. lshows another design for the oscillating member that has certain advantages. There the nodal plane 6262 falls within the solid metal the same as it does in the case of the quartzsteel transceiver. In this design the slots are required to prevent the formation of the radial standing wave system withits ill effects. .The entrances of these slots can be closed by welding as indicated by numeral M to improve the coupling' between adjacent rings and to give greater assurance of uniformity of phase over the radiating surface. It is to be noted that the bands 65 are only of sufficient length to penetrate the magnetic gap for driving or coupling purposes. Thus, they play only a minor role in determining the resonant frequency of the oscillating system because their mass is small in comparison with that of the rest of the metal that is on their side of the nodal plane 62-432. This offers considerable advantage from the standpoint of construction as can be understood in connection with Figs. 8 and 9, which represent in a simple springmass system the two designs shown in Figs. 6 and 7, respectively.

In Fig. 8, 66 represents the mass of the oscillating member above the nodal plane 6I-'-6I of Fig.

and BI with the nodal plane at 82B2.

6, and 61 represents the mass of the oscillating" Fig. 9, the masses above and below the nodal plane are about the Same size. The point to note 1 is that a small variation in the absolute value of mass 61 in Fig. 8 is a large percentage error and, as a result, will cause a relatively large change in the resonant frequency; while the same variation in the absolute valueof mass 10 of Fig. 9 will represent only a small percentage error and, I as a result, will cause only a relatively slight The accuracy of machining required to make all the change in the resonant frequency.

ring increments of the same resonant frequency is much greater in the case of the design of Fig. 6 than is required in the case of the design of Fig. '7. Thus, the design of Fig. '7 lends itself more readily to securing uniform amplitude and phase across the radiating area, and from that standpoint, is my preferred forim. However, both forms are important. From the standpoint of efficiency, that of Fig. 6 is the preferred form.

Fig. 10 shows another type of my directive electrodynamic transceiver that has proved effective and which lends itself particularly well to the slotted or vented head type of transceiver. Numeral H indicates a vented head which is manufactured by boring witha hollow mill into a solid block to a depth 12 leaving a solid plateof whatever thickness 13 may be desired, with cylindrical extensions 14 uniformly spaced over this plate. Each of these cylindrical extensions T4 terminates in a thin band 15, which centers in a ring-shaped gap 16 carrying a radial magnetic field generated by direct current coil 11. 'The inner pole 18 of each magnetic gap 16 carries an alternating current coil 19. Upon passing alternating current of proper frequency through these alternating current coils 19, push-pull forces are generated in the bands 15. All the cylinders will oscillate at mechanical resonance in a standing wave system represented by the dotted lines Coupling between adjacent cylinders is provided by the solid metal of thickness 13 adjacent to the radiating face. The direct current radial field magnets are preferably all made from a plate 83 by boring holes 84 of proper dimensions and spacing into the plate. Each hole is provided with a magnetic core or pole 18 upon which the direct current coil 11 and alternating current coil 19 are wound. Distance piece 89 separates oscillating member H from pole body 83. This scheme permits the use of the electrodynamic principle for driving radiating surfaces of almost any shape while the other designs lend themselves only to a circular surface. The design of Fig. 10 also offers an advantage by making it possible to connect the coils of the several increments in series, parallel, or series-parallel to provide a practical value of impedance.

In summation, the principle of the electromagnetic drive to oscillate a diaphragm for gencrating sound or of transforming sound energy striking a. diaphragm into electrical energy is old. These uses have only been applied to the transmission and reception of low pitched sound of wave lengths long: with respect to the dimen-= sions of the diaphragm or radiating area. Thus, both transmission and reception were substantially non-directive. Such devices could not be used to generate or receive high pitched sounds because the restoring forces of a diaphragm, which are flexural, are not great enough to cause the massive diaphragm to resonate at high frequencies. A radiating surface can be made to oscillate at the higher frequencies if it forms the loop of a standing wave system in an element where the restoring forces are longitudinal; i. e., where therestoring forces are the result of longitudinal strains, because in this case the ratio of the restoring force to the mass is great. My invention employs electrodynamic forces to set up and maintain such oscillations.

The radial dimension of the radiating area that can be driven in phase by a single band 26 (Fig. 3) should not exceed about one-fourth of the length of the sound wave in the metal, and preferably should be kept smaller. For this reason the radial width of the rings 22 (Fig. 3), or the diameter of the cylinders 14 (Fig. must be small with respect to the wave length to which the system resonates. This, of course, does not give a single increment sufficient area to make the sound directive. Large areas can be built up of the small increments, but to secure uniformity of phase these several increments must be coupled. Such directive radiating areas have been built up of increments driven by both crystal and magnetostrictive elements with considerable success and these combinations have been patented. But, as shown, the acoustical power of these devices is limited and the condition for uniformity of phase has not been well met because of the difficulty of keeping the ratio of the effective masses of the numerous increments above and below the nodal plane, equal. In my directive electrodynamic transceivers described herein these ratios are kept extremely accurate because the whole oscillating member is machined at one setting of the lathe, or other machine, such method not only affording mechanical accuracy but also low cost.

It will be understood that the above description and accompanying drawings comprehend only the general and preferred embodiment of my invention and that various changes in construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be made within the scope of the appended claims without sacrificing any of the advantages of my invention.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and/pr used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

I claim:

An electrodynamic electro-acoustio transducer comprising a diaphragm with a plurality of nonconcentric non-overlapping circular slots of the same diameter uniformly disposed over one plane face thereof, a thin cylindrical band perpendicularly extending from the solid cylindrical section of said diaphragm enclosed by each said circular slot, each said band substantially centered over the locus of the center of percussion of the portion of said diaphragm to which attached, said diaphragm and said bands comprising an oscillating member, a plate with a plurality of cylindrical recesses uniformly disposed over one plane face thereof comprising an electromagnet pole body, a central cylindrical pole piece, an annular outer pole piece, a direct current coil and an alternating current coil disposed in each cylindrical recess forming a plurality of electromagnets, an annular distance piece separating said oscillating member from said plate, such that the free ends of said cylindrical bands are centered in the air gaps of said electromagnets substantially midway between said pole pieces, said electromagnets and said cylindrical bands comprising an electrodynamic electroacoustic energy inter-conversion means, said oscillating member setting up a standing wave system of longitudinal type with a loop in an element of said oscillating member where the restoring forces are longitudinal, the parts of said oscillating member and said coils being so located and related that the energy transfer from the coils to the bands occurs at a loop of said standing wave system, all elements of the radiating surface of said oscillating member oscillating with substantial uniformity of amplitude and phase.

HARVEY C. HAYES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,582,590 Fay Apr. 27, 1926 1,604,532 Reigger Oct. 26, 1926 1,690,579 Hammond Nov. 6, 1928 1,980,957 Parry Nov. 13, 1934 2,007,746 Ringel July 9, 1935 2,063,950 Steinberger Dec. 15, 1936 2,088,324 John July 27, 1937 2,402,697 Turner June 25, 1946 2,405,472 Turner Aug. 6, 1946 2,419,608 Turner Apr. 29, 1947 2,444,967 Turner July 13, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 178,235 Great Britain Apr. 20, 1922 298,382 Great Britain Oct. 11, 1928 

